One Year Later
by cupidity11
Summary: A WTNV one shot. Episode 25 from our perfect scientist's point of view.


Carlos' heart pounded in his ears, the rush of adrenaline making his skin hum with electricity. Everything was so vivid, the pain and the sharp smell of blood. His and the man who had so bravely rescued him from what he had thought was a harmless little city.

There were people all around him, their mouths moved, asking questions and commenting, worried always worried but about the things they shouldn't be worried about. But, Carlos couldn't hear them, he heard his own heart beat and the distant hum of the radio, the smooth voice that played over everything, coating this town in its velvet assurance.

And he should be standing and thinking of science. Carlos needed to start preforming tests, asking questions about who, what, when, where and why this was happening. But, the desire to do any of that was stymied, pushed aside violently by the need to see HIM. To see Cecil's anxious and yet youthful face. Surrounded by darkness and a bright light in the murkiness. A constant in this mess. Always there, always a comforting voice in the background.

Carlos stood numbly, looking down at himself. At the blood stains. He would need to wash those out of his lab coat. But, later. He needed…to see him. He fumbled with his jacket pocket and pulled out his cellphone, fingers slipping across the letters.

'Meet me at the Arby's parking lot. Soon. Please.' The scientist hit the send button, feeling rather relieved. A plan set in action. He did something. He looked around the room, people had moved on already, to the Apache tracker, to cutting the cake on what's-his-name's birthday cake.

Carlos was regaining a bit of his balance and he left the bowling alley without a second glance. There would be time to study it all. But, he needed to see HIM, now. First, to change. Luckily, Carlos was nothing if not prepared. In the back of his trunk he kept all sorts of nifty things; first aid kits (which he used first), several beakers and test tubes, deadly chemicals, a blow horn and a spare change of clothes. They were his Sunday clothes, casual and dull.

But, they weren't covered in blood so he swiftly changed and then threw the ruined lab coat into the trunk. Carlos could feel the heated wind as it blew against his cheeks, sending his hair into his eyes. Ugh. He would get it cut again. But, maybe not as short as last time. A brief memory of Cecil's mournful commentary about the loss of his hair flashed in his mind. Silly, silly man.

He sat in the driver's seat and started up the old vehicle and drove. The station, the only real station that wasn't static, was playing music. The weather as everyone referred to it as. And strangely it somehow fit, the moody night time. Tonight the air felt filled with promise. Tonight the strange sands of this town didn't billow around wildly nor did they sit stoically. But, they sifted themselves in the lightest breeze. The sky was clear, a deep purple and in the distance the Arby's sign glowed.

It was empty and he pulled into a crooked spot. A moment to calm his breathing and then Carlos opened his door and went around to lean against the hood, waiting. Not even ten seconds later, a familiar car pulled up and parked a few places away. Cecil popped out, before the car even stopped fully.

"'What is it? What danger are we in?! What mystery needs to be explored?" The man asked, sounding frantic and concerned. A stupid flutter of something sparked in his chest and it joined the ridiculous feeling of relief at seeing his face (such an imperfect, mysterious face that hardly seemed to make sense, but did in a way that he couldn't quite comprehend). Carlos shook his head.

"Nothing," he said. "After everything that happened…I just wanted to see you." The scientist studied Cecil's face closely. Those eyes brightened behind the sturdy glass frames.

"O-oh?" The tremble in his voice went straight to Carlos' heart. He fought back a smile and looked up at the sky instead, at the setting sun in the distance that seemed so far away and yet heated the desert to a crisp.

"'I used to think it was setting at the wrong time, but then I realized that time doesn't work in Night Vale, and that none of the clocks are real. Sometimes things seem so strange, or malevolent, and then you find that, underneath, it was something else altogether, something pure, and innocent."

Something like Cecil, who when they'd first met had seemed so dark, so strange that it had made Carlos feel uncomfortable. He could never quite tell what color the man's eyes were. The smooth sound to his voice held such secrets, surely he was menacing, what did he want from him? But, now that he knew the man better, Carlos knew that Cecil hid nothing. It was merely who he was. And beneath that dark exterior there was something so imperfect and naïve and wonderful that it made his heart stop beating for the barest of seconds.

"I know what you mean." Cecil responded, and Carlos knew that he was speaking the truth. Then his friend, his companion sat down next to him on the hood of his car and together they watched the night sky, the lights above the Arby's as they came to life, shaking and glowing. What was it? What did it mean? Where did it come from? The lights did a dance, like it was playing, showing off for them. And Carlos found that he suddenly didn't need question such a thing. It was here. Now the stars beyond it however…that's where the questioned lied. He reached out and softly placed his hand on Cecil's knee. It was warm beneath the soft fabric. Alive and kind and wonderful. And the man leaned his head against Carlos' shoulder. The tendrils of his hair tickled his cheek.

A contentment wormed its way into his heart, a match lit a long fuse that ended in death, and he knew that someday they would die, and someday the stars would make sense, but today…today they had started something wonderful together. Something he wasn't sure he would ever understand.

They were together under the bright lights above the Arby's.


End file.
